28th World Congress of Law in New York in preparation
The New York World Law Congress 2023 will celebrate its 28th edition and will be held over two days starting on 20 July. The World Jurists Association (WJA) will celebrate its 60th anniversary by going back to its roots in the United States.
The first day will feature a series of concurrent panel discussions, bringing together some 300 panelists from around the world to debate current issues centred on "Peace through Law", the original motto of the WJA.
The Closing Ceremony will be held on 21 July. During this ceremony, the World Peace and Freedom Prize 2023 will be awarded to the European Commission; it will be accepted by its President, Ursula von der Leyen. The prize has previously been awarded to Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, René Cassin, Felipe VI, King of Spain, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Colombian society in the hands of its then President Iván Duque, and US civil rights leader Andrew Young.
Javier Cremades, the President of the World Association of Jurists, commented in the opening letter of the event: "I would like to extend a warm welcome to this new venue of the World Law Congress at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and to the New York Bar Association. This 28th World Law Congress brings together... legal professionals from more than 70 countries, who once again come together to promote and defend peace and freedom through law".
"By holding this World Congress of Law, and by awarding this prize, the WJA wants to contribute to the history of our world to be governed by the rule of law, not by the rule of force".
The organisers
"A world governed by law, not by force" has been the mission of the World Jurists Association since its foundation in 1963.
As a non-governmental organisation in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations, the WJA was established to become a free and open forum for judges, lawyers, law professors and other professionals from around the world to cooperate in strengthening and expanding the rule of law and its institutions.
Among its main activities are the organisation of the biannual World Congress of Law and the awarding of the World Peace and Freedom Prize.
As a result of the 2019 Madrid Declaration, the World Law Foundation was created as the executive arm to organise the main activities of the World Jurists Association. The WJA Councils are composed of leading jurists and practitioners, including former presidents and prime ministers, presidents of high courts, heads of prestigious institutions, lawyers, academics and business people.
The World Law Congress
The World Congress of Law is a congress of congresses in which different organisations and institutions hold their own panels, with the WJA Biennial Congress being the main event. For two days, world leaders, including heads of state, authorities, high court judges, policy makers, academics, lawyers, activists and students, discuss a wide range of current issues to which the legal community must propose solutions. The history of the World Congress of Law is as long as that of the Association. It began in 1963 in Athens, and has continued, almost unstoppably, every two years to the present day.
On 20 July, the opening ceremony will take place at the headquarters of the New York City Bar Association. Panels will include the Judges and Environmental Rule of Law Forum, the WJA Forum on Energy Transition and Climate, the International Justice Forum, the Human Rights Forum, Rule of Law: A Global Perspective, the Global Lawyers Forum, Digital Environment: Freedom of Expression and AI, Young People's Views on the Rule of Law and Proposals for the Future.
Following the conclusion of the panels, the exhibition "A Look at the Life of a Political Prisoner: Virtual Reality Technology at the Forefront of Human Rights Advocacy" will be opened by artist Francisco Lara and the day will be rounded off with a gala dinner.
The closing ceremony will take place on the 21st with the awards ceremony, bringing the 28th edition of the congress to a close.
Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.